Room Tour: A Dark Red Kitchen With an Enviable Utility and Pantry
A cleverly designed utility-pantry boosts this kitchen’s functionality, and can hide behind pocket doors when not in use
If ever there was a project that reminds us all that careful, considered planning pays off, it’s this one. It took two years for this open-plan kitchen and dining area in a family house in London to be realised, but only around four weeks of that time was installation.
“Most of the work was trying to get the plan correct,” says David Tenters of Herringbone Kitchens, who designed the space. “The owner had a wish list, including a separate pantry and utility room,” he says. Working out how this could flow off the kitchen and fit well into the completely reconfigured ground floor was a challenge, but the elegant results speak for themselves.
“Most of the work was trying to get the plan correct,” says David Tenters of Herringbone Kitchens, who designed the space. “The owner had a wish list, including a separate pantry and utility room,” he says. Working out how this could flow off the kitchen and fit well into the completely reconfigured ground floor was a challenge, but the elegant results speak for themselves.
“The architect’s plans for the ground floor [pictured] were nothing like what we ended up with though,” David says. “The owner wanted the utility space to also double up as a secondary kitchen, so if it [had] flowed off the hall, as in these plans, it wouldn’t have worked.”
So began a painstaking process of rethinking the space. “It was about working out how areas knitted together and how you use one alongside another,” David says.
He worked closely with the owner, who then fed back to the architect. “It was an evolving project with many revisions,” he says. “There was a lot of plan work, sketches and scaled drawings before we could get onto the cabinetry and finishes, but my background is in architecture, so I loved it!”
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So began a painstaking process of rethinking the space. “It was about working out how areas knitted together and how you use one alongside another,” David says.
He worked closely with the owner, who then fed back to the architect. “It was an evolving project with many revisions,” he says. “There was a lot of plan work, sketches and scaled drawings before we could get onto the cabinetry and finishes, but my background is in architecture, so I loved it!”
Find reviewed kitchen designers in your area on Houzz.
Accessing the pantry and utility room from the kitchen was resolved by designing in sliding pocket doors. When open, the space flows, but when closed, the kitchen looks clean and calm, nicer if you’re eating in the adjoining dining space or gathered around the island.
These final plans show how the utility room and pantry is connected to the kitchen.
With the layout finally agreed, David and the owner could move on to choosing the cabinets. “She wanted them to feel sympathetic to the house and its period, which is Victorian – something quite classic, clean and not too contemporary,” David says.
A timeless, Shaker-style design fitted the bill, teamed with white marble worktops and splashbacks, and aged brass handles.
To shake up the Shaker look a little, the cabinets were painted in a deep plum red. “We had a few colour choices bouncing around,” David says. “The owner was looking at a deep yellow for the utility at one point, but after considering different options, we ended up with a bespoke red [for the kitchen].”
More: 23 Ways to Add a Dash of Damson to Your Decor
A timeless, Shaker-style design fitted the bill, teamed with white marble worktops and splashbacks, and aged brass handles.
To shake up the Shaker look a little, the cabinets were painted in a deep plum red. “We had a few colour choices bouncing around,” David says. “The owner was looking at a deep yellow for the utility at one point, but after considering different options, we ended up with a bespoke red [for the kitchen].”
More: 23 Ways to Add a Dash of Damson to Your Decor
In the utility-pantry, the red of the main kitchen is complemented by deep green cabinets.
This hard-working space contains a large sink, a washing machine and tumble drier in the tall cabinet, plus the boiler.
Tap, Perrin & Rowe.
This hard-working space contains a large sink, a washing machine and tumble drier in the tall cabinet, plus the boiler.
Tap, Perrin & Rowe.
The owner also wanted some storage for produce and a little coffee-making area.
Creating access to the utility-pantry from the kitchen meant losing wall space for cupboards, so the main kitchen has only one wall of cabinets plus the island. “It was very tight for storage,” David says.
A large larder unit is designed to store food and kitchenware, and provide space for a microwave to be hidden away.
A large larder unit is designed to store food and kitchenware, and provide space for a microwave to be hidden away.
The island is the chief food prep area in the kitchen. David chose a modest sink for it. “There’s a second sink in the utility-pantry that’s larger, where you can soak pans. This one’s for a quick wash-up and water for cooking,” he says. “There’s seating at the island, so you don’t want its worktop spoiled by dirty dishes.”
In fact, the kitchen is so neatly designed that everything can be tucked away. “There’s simply the beautiful range cooker in the centre of the run and from the dining area it’s pretty much hidden by the island,” David says. “All you can see is the lovely painted furniture.”
Even the extractor hood is discreetly concealed in a simple canopy painted the same colour as the walls. “It’s a really beautiful room to socialise in,” he says. “The colour choice and its earthy tones, the living finish on the brass, which will age beautifully, and the marble will all get better over time.”
In fact, the kitchen is so neatly designed that everything can be tucked away. “There’s simply the beautiful range cooker in the centre of the run and from the dining area it’s pretty much hidden by the island,” David says. “All you can see is the lovely painted furniture.”
Even the extractor hood is discreetly concealed in a simple canopy painted the same colour as the walls. “It’s a really beautiful room to socialise in,” he says. “The colour choice and its earthy tones, the living finish on the brass, which will age beautifully, and the marble will all get better over time.”
The dining space, which flows off the kitchen, has a bespoke bench built in by David and his team and painted the same green as the utility-pantry. The flooring is a tumbled oak parquet laid in a herringbone pattern, sourced by the owner.
The owner sourced the Carrara marble worktops, the pendant lights over the island and the upholstery for the bench seating, too. “She was very hands-on, which is really nice,” David says.
In turn, she loved the guidance David and his team provided. “I had a head full of ideas and Herringbone were so helpful in helping me decide which were deal-breakers, what was realistic with the space available, and how to achieve the look I wanted,” she says.
Tell us…
What’s your favourite detail of this elegant space? Let us know in the Comments.
In turn, she loved the guidance David and his team provided. “I had a head full of ideas and Herringbone were so helpful in helping me decide which were deal-breakers, what was realistic with the space available, and how to achieve the look I wanted,” she says.
Tell us…
What’s your favourite detail of this elegant space? Let us know in the Comments.
Who lives here? A couple and their two children
Location Wimbledon, south-west London
Property A semi-detached Victorian house with five bedrooms and four bathrooms
Size Kitchen-diner, approx 9m x 3.7m; utility-pantry, 2.8m x 2m
Designer David Tenters of Herringbone Kitchens
Project completed September 2023
Photos by Herringbone
It was September 2021 when the owner of this house in southwest London first contacted Herringbone Kitchens. She particularly appreciated the company’s bespoke service and commitment to sustainability. “We avoid endangered tropical timbers and use indigenous British species wherever possible,” David says. “Plus we plant a tree for every kitchen made.”
The owner had already commissioned an architect to draw up plans for the entire ground floor, which was being completely redesigned to include an open-plan kitchen, dining and living space, and a handy combined utility room and pantry, too.